September 2013

The Portal in Other Languages

We recently added "Google™ Translate" to enable you to read the Portal in any of many languages. While we can’t guarantee
the accuracy of these translations, we hope it will make the information on the Portal more accessible to families and caregivers
whose first language is not English. Simply select the language of your choice after clicking the "Google™ Translate" icon
at the bottom of the left-side menu. You can even help improve Google’s translations – mouse over any section of translated
text and click Contribute a better translation in the box that appears. We’ll approve the better version to display whenever
another visitor chooses that Portal page and language.

By Al Romeo, R.N., Ph.D. The ninth day of the ninth month, September 9th, is celebrated as International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD)
Awareness Day to remind women to avoid alcohol during the nine months of pregnancy. This year is the 40th year since pediatricians
Kenneth Jones and David Smith, among others, first reported Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS).

As medical professionals learn more about the complex interactions of maternal and fetal genetics, nutritional moderators,
and environmental triggers, it is clear that quantifying the risk of alcohol use for an individual mother and fetus pair is
not currently possible. There is no known safe level of alcohol use during pregnancy.

Medical Home team members have opportunities to reinforce the importance of avoiding alcohol during pregnancy and continuing
to do so while breastfeeding and throughout subsequent pregnancies. Such avoidance will prevent alcohol-related birth defects,
developmental delays, and lifelong impairment, as well as reduce the burden to families and society of managing the ongoing
problems that individuals with FASD experience.

For questions about alcohol use in pregnancy or breastfeeding or to request training for your Medical Home staff regarding
FASD, please visit MotherToBaby or call 801-328-2229. For information about FASD or local resources, please visit the Medical Home Portal at Medical Home Portal (a diagnosis module on FASD is coming soon).